"Shakespeare's R & J" (Idle Muse Theatre): Acting Out in School to Perfection!

#38. I went to parochial schools for sixteen years. Conformity was the lesson taught by the nuns with the optional extra-curricular Catholic guilt. We wore uniforms. Our button-down shirts could only have the top button undone. Guys’ trousers could not have back pockets. The girls had a little more flexibility. They could choose between blue gaberdine pants or a skirt. And I remember this additional requirement so vividly from the dress code manual, “the skirt should only be two inches above the knees when in the genuflecting position.” Only in Catholic school?!

Idle Muse Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s R & J. Four high school boys attend a Catholic school. They dress alike. They recite in unison. They learn their catechism. They are trained to respond to school bells in well-mannered order. These four boys deviate from their course schedule. The rebels hide out in a classroom to act out Romeo & Juliet. The guys find their defiance voice in Shakespeare’s classic.Shakespeare’s R & J is kids acting out in school to perfection.